ABOUT TURKISH AIRLINES

Turkey's "rising star", Turkish Airlines started its journey in 1933 with just five aircraft. Today it serves with a passenger and cargo fleet of 330 aircraft and with the same excitement and enthusiasm as the first day after all those years. The substantial growth it has achieved has put Turkish Airlines among the top airlines of the world. Reinforcing this prominent position and energy with its significant growth figures and innovative approach, Turkish Airlines has always put its signature under important successes in the sector. One of them is undoubtedly the largest aircraft order in Turkish Civil Aviation history, with a significant decision that the airline took in 2013. With this decision, the national carrier aimed to both maintain the fleet average age over the coming years, and push its quality of service even further higher. Counting the large scale of orders, and the aircraft whose rental period is due to come to end by the end of 2023, the fleet of the carrier including cargo aircrafts expected to reach 500 aircraft.

Turkish Airlines permanently continues to undertake countless initiatives in global civil aviation. For instance, the global carrier opened another chapter in Turkish Civil Aviation by launching its new maintenance and repair center in June 2014. The new maintenance and repair facility, constructed at Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, has been regarded as a huge step forward for Turkish Civil Aviation, and widely noted in global aviation. The center added additional momentum to the region’s sector growth as well. The aim of the project, beyond setting up a campus that provides maintenance repair and overhaul services, was the creation of an adequate aviation complex that attracts and provides space for firms operating in other areas of aviation, and particular companies manufacturing products for the industry. The project was brought to life with an investment of roughly 550 million USD. This maintenance and repair center already has a workforce of nearly 7,000 in place, and along with its subsidiaries (TEC, Goodrich Turkish Technic Service Center, TCI Turkish Cabin Interior, TSI Turkish Seat Industries) it has an expected annual turnover of 1.5 billion USD. Carrying this aviation complex into effect raised the bar in the field of aviation maintenance and came into prominence as an important milestone as well on the road to the production of a national civil passenger aircraft, which is an important objective of ‘Turkish Republic’s 2023 Vision’ that laid down to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.

Another significant initiative of Turkish Airlines that successfully carried out in recent years is the creation of Turkish Seats Industries – TSI. This venture, a partnership of Turkish Airlines, Turkish Technic Inc., and Assan Hanil, is the first local aircraft seat producer exclusively designed by Turkish engineers. In 2014, this project played a significant role in regional aviation agenda, with an investment of 5 million USD. After Turkish Seats Industries had successfully introduced the first locally designed seat to the assembly of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, it then design seats which last the ergonomic life of Airbus A319-320 and 321 aircraft, and it continues to drive innovation in seat design. The company, which has initially started to renovate just existing aircrafts of the fleet, now fits these locally manufactured seats to some new aircrafts that joining to the fleet. This project of which main aim is to provide ergonomic seats that increase the passenger comfort and satisfaction to the highest level, is also a sign of a pride for the flag carrier as being exported to the world's largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, on the other hand. Having completed a total of 78 aircraft orders by the middle of 2018, TSI continues to expand its customer portfolio with the orders received.

Another key initiative TCI (Turkish Cabin Interiors) is a partnership between Turkish Airlines, Turkish Technic Inc., and TAI, which produced the first aircraft galley to be entirely designed by Turkish engineers. After taking delivery of the first commercial aircraft fitted with TCI galley equipment in 2014, Turkish Airlines continuing to add aircrafts fitted with this galley equipment to its ever-expanding fleet.

To ensure the highest levels of passenger satisfaction, Turkish Airlines separates itself from its competitors by continuously developing its innovative approach in this regard, and permanently investing in its workforce which regarded as the most important factor in going from strength to strength by the carrier.

All the members of huge Turkish Airlines family, who adopt making passengers feel special and valued throughout their travel by developing new innovations at each stage of travel, offering them pleasant surprises and bringing them a diverse and memorable travel experience as a principle, play a crucial role in making the brand globally recognized along with its approx. thirty different operational areas.

Turkish Airlines, opening more international gateways across the world for its passengers than any other airline, currently offers a wide range of flights to 304 destinations in 122 countries.

Turkish Airlines, who has been performing a rising performance in its passenger potential for more than ten years, carried 10.4 million passenger in 2003. This figure rose to 29.1 million, 32.6 million, 39 million and 48.3 million passengers in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively. In 2014, an impressive period of growth saw this number rise to around 55 million. The number of passengers carried in 2015 was 61.2 million, and this increased to 62.8 million by the end of 2016. While the number of passengers carried by the flag carrier reached to 68.6 million in 2017, Turkish Airlines’ total Load Factor improved by 4.7 points up to 79.1%, while international Load Factor increased by 5 points, up to 78.4%, during January-December 2017 period. During January-April 2018, increase in demand and total number of passengers was 21% and 24%, respectively, over the same period of last year, and the total number of passengers reached to 23 million.

On 20.05.1933 Turkish Airlines was established as an arm of the Ministry of National Defense under the name "State Airlines Administration". The first fleet consisted of two King Bird (five-seater), two Junkers F-13 (four-seater) and one 1 ATH-9 (ten-seater) aircraft.

In 1938 it became an arm of the Ministry of Transport under the name of "State Airlines General Directorate".

In 1947 it operated its first international flight from Ankara to Athens via Istanbul.

In 1956 Turkish Airlines Inc. was established with 60 million TL of capital.

In 1990 it was placed on the list of companies to be privatized, and in October of the same year, 1.82% of the company was put up for public offering.

In 2004 23% of the company was put up for a second round of public offering, and In 2006 28,75% of the company was put up for a third round, which gave Turkish Airlines its privately owned status.

On 01.04.2008 Turkish Airlines joined the world's largest family of airlines, "Star Alliance".

As from 03.02.2017 49,12% of the company is owned by the Turkish Wealth Fund Management CO and the rest of the shares are on free float except 1 C Group share, which belongs to the Republic Of Turkey Prime Ministry Privatization Administration.

For over ten years, Turkish Airlines has stupendously increased its number of carried passengers. 10.4 million passenger were carried in 2003, and this rose to 29.1 million, 32.6 million, 39 million and 48.3 million passengers in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively. In 2014, an impressive period of growth saw this number rise to around 55 million. The number of passengers carried in 2015 was 61.2 million, and in 2016 this increased to 62.8 million, and reached to 68.6 million by the end of 2017.

As of 2016, the chief executive officer (CEO) position of the company has been led by Bilal EKŞİ, and in recent years, Turkey's national carrier has not been focusing just on its own operations, but has been working with 15 different companies as its group of affiliates.

What are Turkish Airlines' quality goals?

Opening the doors of the world to its passengers with its 304 destinations, Turkish Airlines' quality goals are so clear; to bring the passenger experience to a new level with its ever-expanding fleet, the location of its Istanbul hub that allows for one stop connections between virtually any two cities on earth and the rich cultural heritage which helped to form the basis of its award-winning service. Its enhanced strategy is to make passengers feel special and valued throughout their travel by developing new innovations at each stage of travel, offering them pleasant surprises and bringing them a diverse and memorable travel experience.

What's next for Turkish Airlines?

Flying to more international destinations and countries across the world than any other airline, Turkish Airlines takes its strength from its ever-expanding fleet, the significant position of Istanbul as an international transfer hub and the cultural diversity, and with that strength the carrier is permanently seeking to take the flight experience to a whole new level. In keeping with the brand's motto, "Widen Your World", Turkish Airlines aims to make passengers feel valued and special while enable them to see the whole world, and surprise them through its innovative services at every stage of their journey.

What new routes will be starting in 2018?

Turkish Airlines who recently launched Freetown (Sierra Leone), Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Aqaba (Jordan), Krasnodar (Russia), and Moroni (Union of the Comoros) flights in 2018, is also planning to add some destinations as Marrakech (Morocco), and Palermo (Italy) to its ever-expanding network within this year.

A significant number of new routes have been added to the flight network. Generally, how full are the flights?

At the end of 2017, our load factor was 79.1%.

In addition to this, during January-April 2018, increase in demand and total number of passengers was 21% and 24%, respectively, over the same period of last year. Total number of passengers reached to 23 million. The total Load Factor improved by 5.8 points up to 81.2%. While international Load Factor increased by 6 points up to 81%, domestic load factor went up by approximately 4 points to 86%.

Furthermore, the seat occupancy rates on our newly launched routes are at the levels that we're satisfied with. Before Turkish Airlines opens a new route, a long process of research and evaluation takes place at first. It's not just the commercial value that taken into consideration when launching a new route, but Turkish Airlines’ primary mission at this point to reach every corner of the globe to be the Turkey's ambassador brand in those destinations.

Can you tell us about the Turkish Airlines fleet?

Having one of the Europe's youngest fleets with an average age of 8, Turkish Airlines has a total of 330 aircraft, of which 217 are narrow, 92 are wide bodies, and 21 are freighter.

We will continue to grow in line with our 2023 targets with the energy of our new airport. We aim to increase our aircraft number to over 500 in 2023, and continue our works in this regard.

With new wide body aircrafts we have recently ordered in last months, 6, 14, 10, 12, 11, 7 of them will be delivered respectively in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. We’ll take delivery of not only those wide bodies but also 167 new generation narrow bodies to our fleet as beginning from this June.

Along with the development of our fleet, we will be keeping our flag flying in new markets, increasing our frequency depth, and carrying our connection quality even higher.

Cargo is a significant source of revenue for Turkish Airlines. Can you tell us a little about that?

As a prominent subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, Turkish Cargo uses the extensive passenger fleet of Turkish Airlines to carry cargo to 304 destinations that the global carrier currently serves. Apart from this fleet, Turkish Cargo has also 15 dedicated cargo aircrafts, which offer dedicated cargo flights to 85 destinations around the world. Thanks to this wide cargo network, the company carried 1.128.878 tons of cargo in 2017 - an increase of 26,15%, compared to the previous year. Additionally, during the January-April 2018, cargo/mail carried increased by 32% and reached 425 thousand tons, thanks to the strong pick up in cargo/mail volume in April of 2018.

The prominent air cargo brand was ranked in the top 10 in the international air cargo transportation according to WACD (World Air Cargo Data) data. The fastest growing air cargo brand in the world continues to be the preferred choice for air cargo transportation with its infrastructure, operational capabilities, fleet and well-equipped work force.

Why does Turkish Airlines use different concepts for its promotional videos and advertisements in different parts of the world?

Turkish Airlines is a global brand among the top-ten airlines in the world. As such, within the scope of a great brand's advertising and promotion strategy, and in response to an ever-changing competitive market, tracking global trends and developments in the sector is pretty crucial. As a company which flies to 304 destinations across 120 countries, we devise our strategies in line with the regional sensitivities of local markets. The reason for creating unique promotional and advertising material for each region in which we aim to increase our market potential, is that the promotional requirements for each region which depend on varying demographic, cultural and geographical factors. We routinely conduct extensive market researches in the relevant region in order to deliver the right message, through the right channel, at the right time to the target audience. Our market researches are undertaken through an established process, and this has a significant impact on our ability to identify the regional needs for advertising. Our brand is growing fast, and one of our central goals is to ensure that our brand awareness grows in parallel with it, especially in our newly opened destinations. One of the most effective ways to raise the brand awareness is to conduct promotional activities with globally known celebrities and idols all over the world. Depending on research findings into brand awareness and regional research, Turkish Airlines develops different strategies for both its domestic and global activities. As such, the concept, channel and region for each piece of promotional content will vary.

The fruits of this labor are clear. Researches show that Turkish Airlines is one of the most well-known airline brands in the world.

In addition to these communication activities, today our brand is working toward sharing the values it believes in with customers, and establishing an emotional connection with them. The change from the "Globally Yours" motto to "Widen Your World" has been a clear indication of this. Beyond being simply a statement about the strength of our flight network, it is an appeal to discover the world. An invitation to see new countries and meet new cultures. Indeed, a call for people to widen their world. Last year, to further reach its global target audience, Turkish Airlines teamed up with Morgan Freeman to create a promotional film which shares our brand values with the entire world. It was first aired during the Super Bowl, and then turned into a global advertising campaign.

Does Turkish Airlines invest in sport as part of its marketing campaign?

Sponsorship investments play a key role in brand perception, awareness and sales. That's why like any brand aiming to further grow, Turkish Airlines is making significant investments in this area. One of the brand's priorities is to imagine new, more effective and targeted projects that can really make a difference, rather than simply throwing money into sponsorship, which is currently the tendency within the sector. As with various sponsorships across the world, Turkish Airlines is particularly focused on investing in sport.

In 2013, Turkish Airlines teamed up with one of the best golfers in the world, Tiger Woods, to promote the "Turkish Airlines Open" tournament for the first time. Before this tournament, Tiger hit a golf ball from Europe to Asia across the iconic Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, a great feat not to be forgotten, catching the great attention of people across the globe. After the following years, the fifth Turkish Airlines Open took place in 2017, with many famous names taking part. Turkish Airlines Open, which will be held for the sixth time on 1-4 November 2018, will host many important names of the golf world again.

Again in 2013, Turkish Airlines also started the "Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup", the first worldwide amateur golf tournament series. In its first year, the final of this tournament and the Turkish Airlines Open were both held in Antalya simultaneously. Finalists were given the chance to play in a Pro-Am with Tiger Woods and other golf stars. The tournament was held in 12 destinations in its first year, 50 in its second, and in 2015 it took place in 70 locations around the world. In just five years the tournament has grown rapidly, and last season it took place in 96 destinations. And in 2017 it organized in 100 destinations in 63 countries.

We also added Rugby and the Super Bowl to our sponsorship portfolio, and opened doors to a whole new culture of sports lovers. Since Rugby is so popular in the UK, Europe and the Southern Hemisphere, Turkish Airlines decided to be the official partner of both the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup since 2015, in order to reach the scores of fans of this sport branch. And the other new topic that we’ve canalized is The Super Bowl, the final of the American Football League, and the world's most-watched sporting event. Our sponsorship for this event started in 2016. Through our sponsorship broadcasts, we reached more than 118 million individuals at least once, in 2017. That means we were seen by 48% of households across the USA. This is an increase on the 38% achieved in 2016.

Along with golf and rugby, we plan to make investments in sports and events which have the potential to appeal to corporate and business passengers, such as sailing and horse riding. The horse jumping event, CHIO Aachen, is just one of these. CHIO Aachen is one of the world's most prestigious equestrian events that includes races in five different categories. We have been a top-level sponsor to this organization since 2014.

Alongside all of this, we continue to invest in first two of the world’s most popular sports, football and basketball. In football, our sponsorships of various national and international clubs are currently ongoing. In basketball, "Turkish Airlines EuroLeauge Basketball", one of the most prestigious basketball organizations in the world, and the “Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four” event, a key component of this sponsorship, constitute the most popular basketball sponsorships of Turkish Airlines. Last Final Four events took place with our partnership, at Belgrad/ Serbia, between 18th and 20st of May, 2018, which ended with the Spanish representative Real Madrid’ championship. Our partnership here is to maintain sponsorship and event promotion activities throughout the years that we will be in league with the EuroLeague Basketball.

We’ll keep supporting on various sports, as well as cultural and arts events in forthcoming years also.

Another remarkable feature of Turkish Airlines is its transformation into a group of companies. Can you tell us a little more?

With the goal of becoming a leader in global aviation, its talented workforce and successful subsidiaries have allowed Turkish Airlines to continue to strengthen its status as a global brand.

While lowering costs through its subsidiaries, Turkish Airlines is able to provide flexibility and efficiency in its operations, and this also adds to its competitiveness and positive/strategic impact within the sector. Along with this, by providing services to other companies within the sector, each subsidiary adds to the shared value with being profitable in themselves.

Turkish Airlines and its subsidiaries are comprised of a total of 15 companies, and together they seek to maintain Turkish Airlines' status as a leader within the aviation sector, and will continue to play a key role in collaborative projects that are set to contribute to the development of Turkish Civil Aviation Industry.

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,800 daily flights to 1,317 airports in 193 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.

Simply buy a Turkish Airlines flight ticket to discover destinations you have never visited before and meet various distinct cultures. Get ready for brand new experiences with the extensive flight routes of the airlines flying to the most countries in the World!